Illuminating device



May 20, 1941. N. L. JAcoBUs ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed May 5, 1940 lllllIIIIIIIIIIIII III|||III|IIIIIIII IIIIII. IIIII III A lNvENToR4 635011 Z..facaus ATTORNEY Patented May 20, 1941 ILLUMINATING DEVICE Nelson L.Jacobus, Hempstead, N. Y., assignor to The Electro Chemical EngravingCompany, New York, N. Y., a corporation cf New York Application May 3,1940, Serial No. 333,091

(Cl. 2Mb-2.1)

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to illuminating devices for indicationpanels and has for its main object and feature means to adequately andattractively illuminate said panel.

In the accompanying drawing the invention is disclosed in a concrete andpreferred form in which:

Fig. 1 is a front face View of a portion of an illuminating device;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View substantially on the plane of line2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a face view of the inner or rear side of the indication panel.I

I indicates a housing within which is a source of light such as one ormore incandescent bulbs 2. 3 is an indication panel that shields thelight source and here constitutes an insertion in front wall 4 of thehousing. The indication panel can be of any suitable character such asthe dashboard of an automobile, a clock-face, or, as' here shown, apanel for a radio-receiving set such as may be used for auditory orvisual reception or both. The indication panel is here made of sheetmaterial and is provided with a plurality of outwardly projectinglouvers 5 here arranged in series in spaced relation and convenientlyformed by pressing part of the sheet material of the panel outwardly asshown. It will be apparent that the louvers can open upwardly or, ashere shown, downwardly. The inner faces 6 of the louvers are exposed tolight source 2 and constitute diierently colored light-reiiectingsurfaces. For instance, surface 6a can reflect white light; surface 6bgreen light; surface Gc red light; and surface 6d blue light. Thereflecting qualities of the inner faces of the louvers can be obtainedby covering their highly polished surfaces with translucent coloringmaterial such as l.

It will now -be apparent thatl the light received from light source 2 isreflected in different colors on sections or surfaces 8, between thelouvers, on the outer face 9 of the panel. If desired, the outer facesI0 of the louvers constitute lightabsorbing surfaces to more definitelylimit the reflected colored light to surfaces 8.

Suitable wave length indications are provided on the outer face of thepanel or on the outer face of the louvers, or on both. In the presentinstance, surfaces 8 contain scale lbands Ill or` other designations asshown,kand the louvers contain short descriptiveindications such asshort wave, police and standard broadcast which denote here thecharacter of the scale bands immediately below the indication on aparticular louver.

It will now be understood that, when lightsource 2 is turned off, thepanel will appear in i-ts natural color, preferably a neutral tint, suchas ivory, but that, when the light is on, surfaces 8 will simultaneouslyreceive differently colored light from the rear faces of the louvers.The front face of the panel may, of course, be decorated, if desired,and both decorations and indications as well as the neutral backgroundof said face can. be obtained by printing or otherwise decorating thesheet material, Which latter is preferably a metallic substance such astin, aluminum or the like.

I claim:

1. In an illuminating device having a housing provided with a lightsource, an indication panel shielding the light source, said panelhaving a plurality of outwardly projecting louvers, and a plurality ofsections of uniform color, on its outer face, to be illuminated, theinner faces of which louvers are exposed to the light source andconstiftute differently colored light-reflecting surfaces thatilluminate the plurality of uniformly colored sections on the outer faceof the panel. l

2. In a radio-receiving set having a. housing provided with a lightsource, an indication panel shielding the light source, said panelhaving a series of outwardly projecting louvers in spaced relationaffording intervening surfaces of uniform color therebetween, the innerfaces of which louvers are exposed to the light source and constitutedifferently colored light-reflecting surfaces that illuminate saiduniformly colored intervening surfaces, between the louvers, on theouter Vface of the panel.

3. In a radio-receiving set having a housing provided with a lightsource, an indication panel shielding the light source, said panelhaving a series of outwardly projecting louvers in spaced relationaffording intervening surfaces of uniform color therebetween, the outerfaces of which constitute light-absorbing surfaces and the inner facesof which louvers are exposed to the light source and constitutedifferently .colored lightreflecting surfaces that illuminate saiduniformly colored intervening surfaces, between the louvers, on theouter face of the panel.

4. In a radio-receiving set'having a housing provided with alightsource, an indication panel shielding the light source, said panelVhaving a series of outwardly projecting louvers in spaced relationaffording intervening surfaces of uniform .color therebetween, the innerfaces of which louvers are exposed to the light source and constitutedifferently colored light-reflecting surfaces that illuminate saiduniformly colored intervening surfaces, between the louvers, on theouter face of the panel; said panel having on its outer face, on theintervening Isurfaces illuminated by the inner faces of the louvers, aseries of indications for different wave lengths.

NELSON L. J ACOBUS.

